The Plant Pool Recreation Association (PPRA) wants you to walk your way to fitness, starting with its 10,000-Steps Challenge on Saturday, June 7.

“We have two goals for the Challenge,” explains Martha Musgrove, co-president of the PPRA. “We want to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the reopening of the Plant Recreation Centre, and we want to encourage residents of our neighbourhoods to get active by walking the 10,000 steps recommended by experts as a daily exercise promoting optimum health.”

The 10,000-Steps Challenge will be a true community effort because the PPRA is partnering with the Hintonburg Recreation Association, the Plant Recreation Centre, and the Somerset West Community Health Centre to organize the event.

On the day of the Challenge, participants will be given a passport at registration and sent out on a marked route, starting at the Plant Recreation Centre. Passport monitoring stations will be set up at approximately 1,000-step intervals along the route. When participants reach each station, their passport will be stamped. For each 1,000 steps completed, each participant gets a ticket for prize draws. The route is being designed so that those who don’t want to complete the full circuit can easily return to the starting point. Challenge organizers hope as many participants as possible will complete the full route, but even walking a few thousand steps is a good start to reaching a fitness goal.

“Since its formation the PPRA has been all about making recreation accessible to the residents of our part of Centretown, and this goal is certainly shared by our Challenge partners,” said Musgrove. “Walking is probably the easiest, cheapest and most accessible form of exercise. We are fortunate because Somerset West and Hintonburg are really great walking neighbourhoods with interesting businesses and buildings in every block. We think the best way to get to know and enjoy these areas is on foot.”

The Challenge promises to be a fun afternoon with music, hip hop dancing, a barbecue, and prize draws for participants. The PPRA hopes that the event will also lead to the establishment of permanent walking groups in both Dalhousie West and Hintonburg. Preregistration for the 10,000-Step Challenge opens in May.